WASHINGTON (AP) - Sen. John McCain says the movement he led to reform how political campaigns are financed is dead.

McCain says the Supreme Court has spoken on the constitutionality of political contributions by corporations. The Arizona Republican had sought to regulate them with a landmark campaign finance law he wrote with Sen. Russ Feingold, D-Wis.

“Sen. John McCain says the movement he led to reform how political campaigns are financed is dead.” Like John, it looks dead, bringing back the First Amendment, and further restoring the corporate person in contract law. Heck if we keep restoring contract law, soon we can restore the Constitution!

8
posted on 01/24/2010 10:06:44 AM PST
by CRBDeuce
(here, while the internet is still free of the Fairness Doctrine)

And a damn good thing too. It totally tilted the playing field toward the Unions, and THAT sort of SEIU dominance is NOT something this Nation can take again, it gave us Barack Obama, the lead puppet for the SEIU and ACORN.

Good riddance.

9
posted on 01/24/2010 10:08:13 AM PST
by Danae
(Don't think the Constitution matters? Try living in a country without one.)

Campaign finance reform died when McCain accepted federal money and limits on his presidential campaign and his opponent went back on his word to do the same. Once again Republicans are missing the public relations game. They should have been on the talk shows this morning talking about Obama opting out of federal funding and raising an obscene amount of money. Instead, they are letting the Obama and the Democrats wail about big corporations.

15
posted on 01/24/2010 10:20:19 AM PST
by Soul of the South
(When times are tough the tough get going.)

Not one single dollar allowed from Corporations, Unions, PACs or any other fictitious entity. Allow any amount from individual citizens, only by personal check, and fully disclosed from the first dollar. Independent accountants and auditors required for all campaign receipts and disbursements with weekly reports posted for all to see. Any ‘volunteer hours’ be just that, purely volunteer. No 3rd party reimbursements for time spent working on a campaign.

Violations would require treble the amount in question be paid to the opponents campaign plus jail time and loss of voting rights for individuals involved.

22
posted on 01/24/2010 10:29:17 AM PST
by Ditto
(Directions for Clean Government: If they are in, vote them out. Rinse and repeat.)

The guy is 74 and is still angling for another 6 years.
I can’t imagine why he prefers the company of the rest of the DC coots instead of that charming Meghan and NOH8 Cindy ...
The Senate has become like an extended care facility .
JD and Brown must be the beginning of a new wave of Republican vigor.

Do you agree with our Constitution, or not? What you're proposing is again, a violation of the First Amendment.

Every citizen has the right to free speech. Fictitious entities, be it a corporation, union or political action committee or whatever do not have that same right to speak for an individual. Those entities are free to speak to their individual members and urge them to give money to politicians, but they do not have a right force their members to donate to a politicians (i.e. put words in their mouth.) That decision should be left to the individual.

If you had a job that required you to pay union dues, do you like the idea of that union giving your money to politicians you do not approve of? Same goes for stockholders in corporations. And PACs are simply a way to launder money extorted from individuals through the corrupt K-Street lobby industry.

None of those have anything to do with free speech. They are just about buying political influence.

Politicians aren't elected to represent unions, corporations or political causes. They are to represent the people. Allowing those fictitious entities to bundle money, our money, and use it to buy a louder voice with politicians.

37
posted on 01/24/2010 11:45:09 AM PST
by Ditto
(Directions for Clean Government: If they are in, vote them out. Rinse and repeat.)

Its kind of funny looking back..during the election a lot of the comments on this thread would have gotten one banned for insulting the Mighty Morphin McCain..and yet now, nothing but loathing for him. How times change..

umm I never really defended mccain I remember searching the internet to see each candidate’s positions and issues,and to be honest I saw that both were the same. So after that discovery mccain wasnt a candidate worth defending.

Ding dong, the bill is dead!
The stupid bill. It just got killed.
‘cause SCOTUS went and smacked it on the head!
It’s gone where Jim Crow laws are now
Below below below
And now at last, the pernicious bill is dead!

Also, the bigger the contribution, the more extensive the disclosure. A million dollars is legal, but you have to also state your employer, any corporations in which you own more than 5% equity or debt, or sit on the board of directors or are an officer, and any ties to foreign governments or non-profit organizations. A billion dollars is legal, but you have to make your tax returns public as well. A trillion dollars is legal, but...

Fictitious entities, be it a corporation, union or political action committee or whatever do not have that same right to speak for an individual. Those entities are free to speak to their individual members and urge them to give money to politicians, but they do not have a right force their members to donate to a politicians (i.e. put words in their mouth.) That decision should be left to the individual..

Individuals have the right to contribute to a political action committee, or not. They have the right to own or buy stock in a corporation, or not. Presently they have the right to work for a union represented business, or not. How are the forced to contribute?

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